.45 acp in 2023/24

[Salamander]

In my case I might be consolidating rather than shedding things. I decided a while back that I was only going to have one brand of striker pistol, and I probably didn't need a striker pistol chambered for something other than 9mm. I probably still have just as many pistols as I used to, but now they are variations of the same thing.

At the same time I am getting more aggressive about upgrading things I have intended to upgrade someday. Like I wanted a Dillon RL1100, and expected I would get one someday. Then it occurred to me that every year I waited was more than 5% of the time I would have to use the thing, so I sold some stuff I was never using and took the plunge.

I also always wanted the 10mm, but I never could decide it was worth the endeavor for a twenty grain gain in bullet weight. But that was back when I had a bunch of forty guns, and now I do not, soooooo maybe I might not be all that good at this consolidation thing...

I concur on upgrading, and will frame that as a focus on quality... which of course is one of the things I like about P-F, the focus on vetted reliability by so many regulars. Maybe that's because my grandfather was an old world craftsman who appreciated quality, and I still have and use a number of his tools and other things to this day. I'm writing this at the old solid wooden desk I inherited from a favorite uncle who fought on Attu Island in 1943, he understood quality too and I have a number of his things although he was frugal and more about things that documented experiences. My dad on the other hand was a typical small businessman who bought lots of material things but often skimped on personal purchases. When he passed I threw out lots of broken and worn out junk, and there was relatively little worth saving. He gets much credit for teaching me to shoot safely at a very early age though.

It's a little premature to go into detail on why I'm simplifying, for now suffice it to say I'm semi-retired in the past year so have time to think things through instead of jumping from one client crisis to another. Obviously it's the first time I've done this so it's kind of an ongoing experiment. For now let's just say that I was fortunate enough for most of my career to be able to buy what I wanted, limited only by being one of those people hated by credit card companies for paying off the balance in full each month and not paying usury-level interest. Basically if someone on P-F got me interested in some new platform or caliber, more than a few times I researched it, thought it sounded cool, and went to the LGS and bought one the next day. I'm glad I got to try and experience a range of different things, but most of that stuff is long gone now.

All that's changed is that now I try to minimize impulse purchases, things are comfortable but now I prefer to sleep on decisions a couple nights and see if I still want it after that. Surprisingly often, the answer is not really.

A good way to try to describe where I'm trying to get to is to summarize my photography experience. I was a photojournalist in high school and college, after that photography was a creative balance for my often too rational day job. I always bought quality gear, that's a must for the level of abuse P-J gear is subjected to. Remember those brassy war correspondent Nikon F's with all the paint worn off? I still have one of those in the drawer, except mine got beat up domestically. Today I have one digital body, a different high-end top quality brand because I prefer to shoot rangefinder these past 25 years. There are two older film bodies still around, same brand, what were once my primary and secondary bodies. Each body wears one lens which rarely comes off, plus I have a couple other lenses for rare specialized use. But 95% of my current creative work happens with one body, one lens, and a brand known for reliability, minimalism and only the essentials. The gear is holding value, often appreciating in value.

That's where I'm trying to get to with firearms. It's going to take a little longer to decide what to keep, for sure I have too much right now. In the meantime anything new will be purely functional... like optics, for example. I'm probably done trying another platform every few years just because it sounds cool.

OK enough, time to go find more coffee. More someday, maybe, when I get it better figured out.

[LockedBreech]

I sing the praises of my M&P45 2.0 4.6" probably a little too often, but it always feels warranted. It was my first, and to-date only, .45 polymer gun.

Despite the fact that I own 1911s that I like, it was the M&P45 that made me finally realize the appeal of .45. It also made me realize what 1911 aficionados were saying when they said that, aside from considerations of terminal effectiveness, barrel length, capacity, and weight, there is a realm of confidence and comfort when you have a gun that, over time, you grow to trust not only to function, but to perform.

Almost everything I shoot these days is a 9mm, and I trust and like my 9mms and my Doc-approved defensive loads, but there are two non-9mm guns, my PX4 .40 and my M&P45, that I trust as much or more, because I know from lots of experience they will put the rounds where I want them and I know they will cycle. The accuracy of .45 is not a myth, a good .45 feels like a laser pistol.

Like a lot of shooters in my generation, I spent so many years focused on raw data: caliber, velocity, materials, barrel length - and I failed to grasp the qualitative truth that while caliber is an important consideration, it's not the only consideration. There is the caliber, but there is also the gun.

The short answer: I think it's always worth messing around with new platforms if there's a chance you might really find the gun that makes you a more confident shooter. Aside from that practical input, .45 is awesome, and if you have the cash to spare, why the heck not?

[JonInWA]

I sing the praises of my M&P45 2.0 4.6" probably a little too often, but it always feels warranted. It was my first, and to-date only, .45 polymer gun.

Despite the fact that I own 1911s that I like, it was the M&P45 that made me finally realize the appeal of .45. It also made me realize what 1911 aficionados were saying when they said that, aside from considerations of terminal effectiveness, barrel length, capacity, and weight, there is a realm of confidence and comfort when you have a gun that, over time, you grow to trust not only to function, but to perform.

Almost everything I shoot these days is a 9mm, and I trust and like my 9mms and my Doc-approved defensive loads, but there are two non-9mm guns, my PX4 .40 and my M&P45, that I trust as much or more, because I know from lots of experience they will put the rounds where I want them and I know they will cycle. The accuracy of .45 is not a myth, a good .45 feels like a laser pistol.

Like a lot of shooters in my generation, I spent so many years focused on raw data: caliber, velocity, materials, barrel length - and I failed to grasp the qualitative truth that while caliber is an important consideration, it's not the only consideration. There is the caliber, but there is also the gun.

The short answer: I think it's always worth messing around with new platforms if there's a chance you might really find the gun that makes you a more confident shooter. Aside from that practical input, .45 is awesome, and if you have the cash to spare, why the heck not?

Because when you hang around here, smart-asses like myself will always be lurking in the background, poised in the launch mode over our keyboards waiting to say (in chorus, of course) "Just get a Glock" (Usually a G19, but hey, in your case a G21 or a G30 too-in Gen5!)

Best, Jon

[JohnO]

.45 ACP got the job done for a long time and it's still capable. In my land of 10 round magazine limitations I'm choosing God's Gun/Caliber. I have 2 G21s and a G30 but none carry as nicely as a Lightweight Commander.

[JAH 3rd]

I have an M&P 1.0 45 acp full-size as well as the 8-round 4" version too. About 3 years ago I got a 2.0 version of the full-size 45 acp. I thought the 1.0 grip texture was too slick, but the 2.0 is great. I had to get use to the texture but much prefer it over the original. Very pleased with all three pistols!!

[GJM]

I have an M&P 1.0 45 acp full-size as well as the 8-round 4" version too. About 3 years ago I got a 2.0 version of the full-size 45 acp. I thought the 1.0 grip texture was too slick, but the 2.0 is great. I had to get use to the texture but much prefer it over the original. Very pleased with all three pistols!!

It was always a mystery to me why Smith could make the M&P 45 shoot so well but not so with the 9mm?

[revchuck38]

It was always a mystery to me why Smith could make the M&P 45 shoot so well but not so with the 9mm?

I solved that conundrum by selling my M&P9 1.0 and buying another M&P45 1.0.

[1More]

I have been really enjoying shooting the 10mm FN 510 the last few days. They also make the FN 545, which is a similar pistol, except in .45.

Any reason to have a FN striker in .45 these days, if you have its near twin in 10mm?

So you can show us which one you shoot better with respect to time/accuracy, especially if the FN545 stomachs .45 outdoor / .45 Super loads reliably.

[SwampDweller]

In general I also think .45 has a place in times/locations when modern high performance 9mm duty ammo isn’t readily available, and especially in places where there is a 10 round limit. Personally if I’m limited to 10 bullets I’d rather them be bigger bullets.

[BillSWPA]

If I still lived in NJ, I would be much more heavily invested in .45, since hollow points are legally problematic there.

I still have family in NJ. Depending on how often I can or must travel there, obtaining a nonresident license could potentially become worthwhile. This would provide another motivation to have a .45.